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Monday, November 23, 2015

Quarterly exams brings even more stress to the end of the quarter

Bailey Hendricks

Features Editor

The first marking period has made its way to the end. As usual the end of the marking period brings a cram of tests, homework, and projects. Students tirelessly work to make sure they get everything in on time and make sure their grades are up to their standards. However, this year things are changing. The introduction of the Quarterly Exams, brought a new look to the marking period’s end.

The Quarterly Exams have been introduced in efforts to create less stress for students around the midterm and final exams. Rather than two exams worth 10% of your final grade, four smaller tests will be administered after each marking period each worth 5% of your final grade. While the idea seems optimistic, not all students feel the same.

Junior Elizabeth Both says she does not “personally like the quarterlies, but it gives you more of a chance to rise up from a bad grade unlike the midterm and finals format.” The new format, being worth only five percent of your grade, gives you a better chance to recover from a bad grade on one of the four exams. Senior Hannah Mui says, “ I think the quarterlies are not good for seniors especially with sending mid year grades to colleges, the tests can bring down the student’s overall grades. It is also a new format to get used to at the very end of our high school career.”

While the students understand the logic behind the testing, it is still difficult to add in even more tests in an already stressful time. The last week of the quarter is stressful enough and with some student taking more than four or five tests in that week it becomes even more stressful. The idea of smaller tests is helpful, but when administered during a regular school week when the workloads from other classes remain the same, it is hard to balance homework with studying and other extracurricular and out of school activities. The Quarterly exams will still add up to 20% of your final grade for each class, so many students are still feeling the same pressure to perform at their best.